Broken Hourglass
by DjTallon
Summary: In the desperate fight against the creatures of Grimm, Naruto makes the ultimate sacrifice. In a race for time, Naruto does everything he can to fight back the Grimm. With his hourglass running out... will he lose himself to the madness and power that he sought to control. One thing is for sure. He'll never give up, until the last grain of sand has fallen. Multixover, NaruWeiss


**Broken Hourglass**

 **RWBY "Orange" Trailer**

A silhouette descended from the shadow's created by the bleak trees of the "Forest of Death". It was here that the figure's ancestors had called home for generations. Also known as "Area 44"; the corrupted zone was known for it's highly tuned negative emotions that drew the resident Grimm to it like the sweetest candy. It's power was fuel to these creatures of dark desires, empowering them beyond what you would see in the common wild.

It was the figure's clan that cultivated this land for themselves, building a village just west of the forest, protecting would-be unfortunate traveler's from delving into the depths of it's unforgiving land as a shortcut to the city of Vale. There they remained, in constant watch of the Grimm passing through and living in the forest. It first started as a personal mission of the clan's founder to keep watch over what was presumed a hot spot for Grimm activity, but they were soon approached by the council of Vale to continue their watch as a special task force. In return they were funded and supported by the city, and children of the clan were given formal training by huntsman of Vale and it's fellow kingdoms.

That's how it all started, but it was soon discovered that there was a much darker secret behind the clan, and this "Forest of Death".

The shattered moon above shined down it's bright rays into the clearing in the middle of the forest, creating an eerie, while almost beautiful atmosphere. The forest was silent, not a Grimm in sight. Seals had been set for the time being, seals which suppressed the negative energy emanating from the center and drove the Grimm out temporarily. The silhouette stepped out into the light, making his way slowly to the absolute middle of the forest. He didn't have much time remaining before the nullifying seals gave.

He tilted his head as he observed around him, oceanic blue eyes shining from the moon's light scanning the surroundings. He took in the twisted and corrupt trees, devoid of any green. The dead, gray grass that bushed up against him in the light wind whistling through the trees. The beams of white light pushing through the branches that stretched far into the sky, accenting the shadow's that covered the forest. A Grimm paradise.

This is what he came here for. The deepest secret of the Uzumaki clan. His clan. The beast that forever loomed over their heads. The one they had unleashed upon the world of Remnant... The one that his ancestor, Hagoromo Uzumaki, had sealed here so many years ago.

His family had always been huntsman, since as long as history went. They were always in constant battle with the Grimm. Because of their constant struggle, the Uzumakis had become very adept at the use of Aura, and the energies around them. This included the negative energies that attracted the dreaded Grimm. The semblance that was passed from generation to generation allowed the ability to manipulate one's own aura to extreme abilities and lengths. It was rare in Remnant to meet huntsman with such control over their own aura, but the Uzumaki had made it their forte.

He was no different. Trained by his mother from a young age, he had grown knowing only the battle against Grimm. He fought his first Grimm when he was ten years old, when he unlocked his semblance, and used an ability that his father had created to smash the Beowolf into pieces.

The boy, a mere teen, shivered in anticipation and anxiety as he felt the dark energy rising from the floor of the forest. To think, that his ancestor had created such a beast... It caused a tightness in his chest.

Hagoromo Uzumaki had lost himself to the madness that was the constant battle against Grimm. He had given in to his negative emotions, was swallowed up by them. For an Uzumaki this was especially dangerous. While they were adept at sensing and using emotions, this also caused them to have an extreme effect from them. The negative energy that corrupted and clouded Hagoromo's mind was the seed that created the Grimm that forever haunted the family.

Named the "Kyuubi no Yoko", after the fact that it was a nine-tailed fox, the beast was a horror to all who witnessed it. It was colossus in size, and one of the most powerful Grimm to touch foot on Remnant. Not only that, but because it was synthetic, the beast had a soul all it's own. It could use aura, abilities just like the Uzumaki.

The Kyuubi was the Uzumaki's greatest failure. It was here that Hagoromo had his final battle against the beast, and sealed it into the forest, dooming his family to forever watch over the apocalypse he had started. It was here, that his family remained, in what could be considered the most dangerous area of Remnant for Grimm activity. It was here that his family lost their struggle against the Grimm, and fell, one by one, to the clutches of the corrupted beasts. It was here, that he held his dying mother in his arms as she whispered "I love you" one last time.

It was here that he would make what could be the worst decision of his life. To absorb the Kyuubi no Yoko into himself, and use the power of the beast to finally fight back the Grimm once and for all, and save Remnant from the same fate he had to endure.

Determination set in his face, he lowered himself to his knees and placed his hands down onto the dirt in front of him. In the light of the moon one could make out the black markings covered his naked upper body. Seals by the looks of it, the same ones used to seal the Kyuubi into the ground he currently stood. They stretched to his naval, where a three pronged seal was drawn around his stomach.

Aura began to channel around the teen, a blue hue outlining his toned body. It stretched down his arms as it licked the surface his hands touched. Soon, similar seals to the ones on his body showed themselves on the ground, stretching out to the edges of the clearing.

Sweat dripped from his forehead. As ready as he was, he knew the weight of what he planned to do. If this failed, the consequences of such would be dire. Everything was riding on his shoulders now. With the souls of his family at his back... he would not fail. He couldn't fail. He would succeed where Hagoromo had failed.

Steeling his will, the boy closed his eyes. Soon, disembodied chanting could be heard echoing throughout the forest. As if his ancestors were chanting with him.

His aura stretched around the seals on the forest floor, painting them in a deep blue. A blinding flash was seen for but a second as the seals responded to his influence. They twisted and turned, fighting back as hard as they could, before the boy pumped what remained of his aura which burst out from him. The seals gave way, and began to crawl their way up his body.

He grit his teeth as the pain hit him. It started as a burning sensation creeping up his arms, and continued where the seals touched. They began to form around the seals he had made around his own body. They boy yelled out in agony as the last of the seals made their way to his exposed chest and connected with the main writing on his stomach. They flashed red, all along his body as they began to burn away at his skin and insides. He could feel the dark energy in it's entirety, negative emotions pushing down on him. Images flashed through his mind, of Grimm, people dying, cities burning. He closed his eyes tight, willing the pain and images away.

Gritting his teeth, he kept himself from crying out again. It wasn't an easy task. He had never felt pain and despair quite like this, even after having lost his family. It was so... _intense_. Like he could feel the world around him burning to ruins.

A roar, deep and demonic, sounded through the forest. It sent shivers down his spine. A red aura began to rise from the ground in wisps. He could see that the aura was growing to a center point and began to form a being of some sort. A head in the shape of a fox. The same blood curdling roar was heard from the translucent aura, before it shot out toward him and hit him in the chest.

Did he say it hurt before? He was wrong. This _hurt_.

He let go of the forest floor as his body snapped backward and his head turned toward the sky. He let out a scream of agony as his skin burned away, only to heal and burn away again, over and over. The seals on his body flashed red, and his eyes would fluctuate from his normal oceanic blue to crimson red.

While only lasting minutes, to the boy it seemed as though it lasted years, as his screams filled the forest. Then, everything stopped. The seals on his body shrunk to the center point on his stomach, his body had healed back to normal, and his eyes remained their natural color.

He took quick, exasperated breaths. Sweat poured down his body, glistening in the moonlight. He brought his arms into his body as he fell backwards onto the forest floor, eyes still wide in what seemed to be agony and fear.

The forest around him changed drastically as he lay there. Without the negative energy corrupting everything around it, it was able to heal itself completely. The grass grew another inch, and it's sickly gray color gave way to a beautifully natural green. The trees untwisted themselves as flowers and foliage began to form on their branches.

Life returned to the forest as the being that corrupted it was no longer sealed inside. Now, it resided in him. He had succeeded. He did not _fail_.

As he lay there, he could feel the presence of another above him, a hand reaching out and brushing lightly against his face. It was the presence that he had felt behind him before he had started, the one that was supporting him. He knew who it was. He smiled, as his eyes closed to the darkness and he whispered to the air above him; "Thank you... Okaa-san".

He had no idea how long he had been sleeping there. Hours, maybe even a day? He was exhausted, after having used up all of his aura on the sealing... and now he was starving.

But it wasn't his stomach that had woken him from his peaceful slumber. It was the sound of footsteps coming toward his clearing. Still too exhausted to move, he couldn't do much as what sounded like an adult male made his way in.

"I could have sworn Area 44 was around here somewhere... Dammit Kushina, why'd you have to die and give me this shit assignment..." He could hear the man curse out, than take a swig from what sounded like an aluminum flask. His voice sounded rough, almost unused. As if he was constantly traveling, and didn't have the time to stop and talk to others.

He didn't care, he just wanted to wring this man's neck for cursing his mother like that.

The man then seemed to notice he wasn't alone in the clearing as he spotted the body of the boy covered in the long green grass of what was Area 44. "Hey!" the man had called out as he ran over to the boy, the flask he was nursing long forgotten. They boy felt hands placed on his chest as the man no doubt checked his pulse, before lifting him up from his position on the ground. "Are you alright, kid? Can you tell me your name?"

The boy stirred where he lay in this man's arms. They were strong, built like a fighter. Judging from that and the fact that he seemed to know his mother, this man must have been a hunter. The boy coughed as he tried to form words to answer his almost savior, "Am... alright. My name is... Naruto. Naruto... Uzumaki".

The man holding him up grew silent for a second, as if he had recognized the name. No doubt if he knew Naruto's mother, he knew him as well.

The man lifted Naruto up and carried him, making his way toward the exit of the forest. "I'm going to get you some help, Naruto. Just stay with me alright buddy?" Naruto nodded to his question, not trusting his voice anymore. He could feel the man's emotions pretty clearly. He wasn't a threat. There was genuine concern in both his voice and his feelings. He would trust this man, and rest in the meantime.

As the man quickly made his way out of the forest and toward Vale to get Naruto medical attention, he clicked his tongue. "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Qrow. Knew your Mom. I was asked to check out Area 44 after we had heard she passed away. You must be her son... I'm sorry kid. I'm going to get your somewhere safe, alright? Just hang with me."

Naruto smiled. At least he was in good hands. He knew of Qrow, the Reaper. Though, not many hadn't heard of him. His reputation definitely preceded him. "Thank you..." Naruto was able to croak out before he ultimately passed out in Qrow's arms.

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-One Year Later-

Soldiers in white marched ahead to the walls surrounding this small village bordered on the edge of Atlas. They were the army of Atlas. They moved with distinction and urgency, the reason made clear by the waves of Grimm that stood just outside the gates.

Even out here, the middle of a tundra the influence of the Grimm remained. The men steeled themselves, ready to put down their lives for their families and the villagers inside the gates. While not a huge city, they were one of the larger ones and an important export of goods to the rest of Atlas. The loss of this village would be a large blow.

Help was on the way from the main cities, but they would have to hold their ground in the meantime.

The commander stood ahead of the rest, his rifle aimed right for the center of the horde of Grimm. "Stay strong, men!" he called out to his troops. "They cannot pierce this gate. Help from Atlas will be arriving soon".

Nonetheless his men showed their fear. Some were new, just indoctrinated and hadn't seen actual combat yet. As much as he wanted to believe otherwise, the commander knew it wasn't looking good for his men. But he would do his best, and so would they. They had no choice but to hold until reinforcements arrived.

For what seemed like hours of silence, both sides staring the other down, the first shots finally rang out along the icy plain. The Grimm began to charge as the Atlas military opened fire on them. Beowolves out front, many of them were the first to fall. Behind them was a line of many Ursa. They would be the harder ones to take down.

The Grimm were breaking through their line of fire. It took more concentrated fire than they had to take down the Ursa and the larger Grimm around them now that most of the Beowolf were gone. With the remaining Beowolf acting as fodder for the stronger Grimm, it was looking like a lost battle for the Atlas military. The heavy artillery on the sides of the walls fired their cannons away, knocking the Grimm down, but usually only killing one at a time. They were too slow to fire to deal with the large line that currently charged them.

A grim look fell over the face of their commander. Despite the clear desperation in the troops, they continued their fight as he yelled encouraging words to his men. "Hold the line! We make our stand here men!"

The Ursa were already at the wall now. The beasts were large, but quick on their feet and they could stand one hell of a beating. As the men were ready to give up their fight, their savior appeared in the form of a teenage boy whom lightly touched down on the wall between them, next to their commander. His eyes went wide as he turned his head toward the random appearance of this boy.

Looking to be around the ripe age of seventeen, the boy was well built for his age. His toned body built for heavy combat showed through the tight maroon vest he wore over his upper torso, tied by thick string near his neck. Below that he wore a pair of dark leather jeans, tucked into plate greaves that stretched to his knees. His arms were covered by the same plate metal, up to his shoulders which had red fur lining around the edges. His untamed yellow hair was that of a lion's mane, framing his face with two long sideburns that fell over his ears.

The teen's ocean blue eyes shined with mischief as he pushed his foot off the wall, charging straight in toward the horde of Ursa still making their way toward the gate. The commander's combat trained eyes noticed the revolvers that covered they boy's knee guards and pauldrons. Curious just what they were for, he would soon get his answer as the barrels in his knees spun before stopping on the color red.

The boy's legs erupted into flames. He landed in front of the Ursa, stopping their charge. As he landed, he spun in a circle, the flames spinning with him and melting the snow to water. As he made a full circle and faced the Ursa again, he slammed his foot down, a torrent of flames shooting up and turning much of the water to steam, blinding the Ursa with the heat and fog. The water that didn't evaporate splashed outward toward them, drenching the Grimm. Standing now on two feet, the revolvers in the boy's shoulders spun until they landed on a dark purple. As soon as they did he held his arms wide out, before bringing them together in a powerful clap. As he did lightning shot from his whole arms, arcing outward toward the soaked Ursa. The lightning lighted up the field as the Ursa were burnt to a crisp from the electricity and fell, disappearing into mist.

The commander from his position above the battle just stared unbelieving at this teen, who single-handedly killed a third of the Grimm's forces that were about to overrun them. _'He just took out a huge chunk of them in two moves. Who is this kid?'_ were the thoughts running through the commander's head.

His answer came swiftly again, in the form of a second figure landing next to him, this time to his right. He didn't even have to look over to see who it was, the strong stench of booze giving the man away completely. The commander just chuckled as he shook his head, "it all makes sense now. He's your student. I heard you'd picked a kid up in your travels."

Qrow smirked as he took another swig of his flask, "The kid is pretty awesome isn't he? Reminds me of myself when I was his age. Always charging head first into battle. Makes me proud. Guess I better go help him out."

With that said Qrow leapt after his student, landing next to the boy who was currently in his ready stance, staring down the creatures of Grimm as they huffed at their offender.

Seeing his teacher land next to him, Naruto dropped his stance and stood straight. Qrow reached inside his white jacket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes before popping one into his mouth. He knocked another halfway out of the pack before holding it out to Naruto.

Naruto grinned as he reached out for the offered cigarette before popping it in his mouth. His right shoulder revolver twisted to red before he flicked his armored fingers, a small ember rising up from his index finger. He used it to light the cigarette before helping Qrow with his. Taking a short puff, he pulled it from his mouth and chuckled.

"You realize my Mother is going to follow you into hell for this right?"

Qrow sighed as he took a puff from his own cigarette, before washing the flavor down with a swig from his flask, "She'll have to get in line. I have a feeling a lot of ex girlfriend's are going to be waiting for me down there".

Naruto sat the cigarette back into his mouth before dropping into his ready stance again, glaring down at the Grimm that seemed to be getting impatient. "Try not to die too quickly then, sensei."

They both then charged the Grimm. With Qrow's tactical and combat prowess and Naruto's dust support they made short work of the Ursa, dropping their numbers within minutes. Soon after they turned their attention to the larger Grimm in the back, some King Taijitus and a Deathstalker. They didn't last long either.

One of the King Taijitu had managed to swallow Naruto, but the teen hunter was able to bust out by punching his way through it's stomach using his piercing lightning dust. As he landed on the ground, covered in the snake's spit, he sighed in annoyance. "Why is it always snakes..."

Qrow and Naruto stood in the middle of their battlefield, the dead Grimm around them disappearing into the same black mist as before. The sound of growling and feet stomping could be heard as more waves of Grimm charged from the forest, same as before.

Naruto brushed his fingers through his blonde mane, "They never end, do they?"

Qrow brushed the snow from his jacket as he swung his scythe back into his ready stance. "Get used to it brat, this is your life now."

The two hunters, student and teacher, steeled themselves as they got ready to defend the city from another wave of Grimm. It was proven unnecessary as the reinforcements they had been waiting on arrived in the form of two bullheads filled with more of Atlas military. The sides of the aerial combat vehicles faced the Grimm, it's heavy machine guns aimed toward the horde. The two bullheads opened fire, decimating the front lines and making their way down the creature's ranks. Knowing the battle was lost, the Grimm turned tail and ran, straight back into the forest they had come from.

Satisfied that the battle was over for now, the two bullheads landed in the open plain, Atlas soldiers carrying heavy weaponry marched from the back doors and toward the two huntsman. The commander and lieutenant reached Qrow, the former saluting the well known hunter.

"We've arrived on orders from General Ironwood to defend this city. Thank you for your assistance in holding back the Grimm," the man spoke rigid and monotone.

Qrow waved off the soldier, as if this was a daily occurrence for him. Naruto sighed as he plopped his rear down into the snow, leaning back onto his arms. Qrow raised an eyebrow at his student, "Man, and I was hoping for a lot more action. Weiss promised this was starting to become a hot spot for Grimm activity. You soldier boys had to ruin it."

Qrow chuckled at his student's mischievous attitude. He never did show any respect for authority. Not even for himself. Though he always did show a soft spot for that white haired girl and her family. No doubt due to his own perverted agenda. He was a teenage boy once. He knew exactly what was going through Naruto's young mind. "Careful kid, or your little crush on our resident snowflake is going to get you in trouble."

Naruto jokingly slapped Qrow across the leg with his armored hand, glaring up at the older man. "Quiet! The Atlas military is _right_ here!" He hissed out in irritation.

The Atlas commander squinted in annoyance at the two bickering huntsmen in front of him, pretending not to hear the conversation about what this blonde haired boy wanted to do with a certain snow-flower. He cleared his throat to get the attention of Qrow, "Ahem... Sir. Ironwood mentioned that you had requested we bring you a bullhead to take to Vale. You should be leaving shortly if we are to make the trip in time. We will remain here to better defend the city and make adjustments to it's armorments."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion before turning to his year long teacher, "Wait, Vale? Why are we heading there?"

Qrow rubbed at the back of his neck, he knew Naruto wasn't going to enjoy this next part. He prepared his ears for the inevitable shouting, "I'm not going to Vale. You are. I enrolled you in Beacon Academy. You start in a week."

There was silence across the plain, as if a Grimm attack had not just happened moments before... And then the birds in the trees scattered due to the screech that echoed across the open fields.

"What?!"

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 _So, that was just a short trailer from an idea I've had floating around in my head for a while now. I'll update it weekly, at least that's the plan. Hopefully you all like it, let me know in the review section!_

 _For now Weiss is just Naruto's puppy love, and it's not totally ingrained as the main pairing in the story. Much like how Sakura was in the main Narutoverse. I'll hold a vote probably around the next chapter or so, but I've had a couple ideas of what I want the main pairings to be._

 _Much love! See you all next week!_


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